Can You Learn Shouts in Skyrim Without Doing the Main Quest?
Yes, you absolutely can learn Dragon Shouts in Skyrim without progressing far into the main questline, and to a great extent, even without touching it at all! The game world is designed to allow for a significant amount of freedom, meaning that while the main quest introduces you to the Dragonborn‘s destiny and the power of the Voice, it doesn’t gatekeep access to all Shouts.
The key is understanding how Shouts are acquired. You learn individual Words of Power from Word Walls scattered throughout Skyrim. The “Freedom of Speech” fan-made patch moves most quest-locked Word Walls, but even without it, many Word Walls are located in dungeons and areas independent of the main quest. Once you discover a Word Wall and learn a word, you need to unlock it using a Dragon Soul, obtained by slaying dragons.
While the main quest does involve fighting some dragons, you can encounter them randomly in the world regardless of your quest progress. This means you can amass Dragon Souls and unlock Shouts without ever visiting Whiterun to warn about the dragon attack or meeting the Greybeards. You will be cut off from completing the main quest and thus some of the later more powerful shouts, but in the meantime you can still make use of the early shouts. This opens up possibilities for alternative playthroughs centered around exploration, guild activities, and role-playing. The Games Learning Society studies the importance of this type of freedom in games. Check out GamesLearningSociety.org for more information.
Essential Mechanics for Shout Acquisition
To effectively learn Shouts outside the main quest, keep these core mechanics in mind:
- Word Walls: Focus your exploration on locating dungeons, ruins, and other locations known to house Word Walls. Websites and Skyrim wikis can be invaluable resources for this.
- Dragon Encounters: Be prepared to fight dragons. They spawn randomly throughout Skyrim, often near dragon lairs or other points of interest. Leveling up your combat skills is essential for survival.
- Dragon Souls: Remember that each Word of Power requires a Dragon Soul to unlock. Prioritize slaying dragons whenever you encounter them.
- Rumors and Bards: Listen to rumors from innkeepers and other NPCs. They might provide hints about locations containing Word Walls. Bards in taverns sometimes sing songs that contain clues.
Optimizing Your Shout-Learning Adventure
Here are some tips to optimize your Shout-learning experience if you choose to bypass the main quest:
- Join Guilds: Guild questlines, such as the Companions, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and College of Winterhold, often lead you to locations containing Word Walls.
- Explore Dwemer Ruins: Dwemer ruins are a great source of loot and usually contain Word Walls. The ruin of Mzulft has a Word Wall and an interesting story, but requires access to the College of Winterhold to access the Word Wall.
- Crafting and Alchemy: Leveling up your crafting skills can help you create powerful weapons, armor, and potions that will make dragon slaying easier.
- Follow Radiant Quests: Many NPCs offer radiant quests (repeatable, randomly generated quests) that can lead you to unexplored areas, increasing your chances of finding Word Walls.
- Use Mods (PC Only): If you’re playing on PC, consider using mods that enhance dragon spawns or reveal the locations of Word Walls. This can significantly accelerate your progress.
The Limitations of Bypassing the Main Quest
While learning many Shouts is possible without the main quest, there are limitations:
- Dragonrend: The Dragonrend Shout is crucial for defeating Alduin and is exclusively learned during the main quest. Bypassing the main quest means you won’t be able to acquire this essential Shout, and in effect, complete the main quest.
- Quest-Locked Shouts: A handful of Shouts are tied to specific quests, and avoiding those quests will prevent you from learning those Shouts.
- Story Context: Bypassing the main quest means you’ll miss out on the lore and story context surrounding the Dragonborn and the Shouts, which can impact your role-playing experience.
FAQs: Shouts and the Main Quest in Skyrim
1. Do I have to be Dragonborn to use Shouts in Skyrim?
No, you don’t have to be Dragonborn to learn Shouts, but it is easier to master Shouts if you are Dragonborn. The Greybeards and Ulfric Stormcloak can all use Shouts, and none of them are Dragonborn. Being a Dragonborn grants an innate ability that helps them learn Shouts faster and more naturally.
2. How do I unlock Shouts in Skyrim?
You unlock Shouts by finding Words of Power etched on Word Walls, usually located in dungeons or ancient ruins. After discovering a word, you must expend a Dragon Soul to unlock its power and make the Shout usable. Each Shout has three words, and you can upgrade a Shout by unlocking more words, if available.
3. Can I find all the Word Walls without doing any quests?
While you can find many Word Walls through exploration alone, some are located in areas accessible only through specific quests, including main quests. The “Freedom of Speech” fan-made patch is created to move most quest-locked Word Walls to make them accessable outside of the intended quests.
4. Are Shouts unlimited in Skyrim?
Yes, Shouts are essentially unlimited. You can use them as many times as you want, but each Shout has a cooldown period that varies depending on the Shout and its power. There is no consumption of any resource like magicka to use Shouts.
5. What is the best Shout in Skyrim?
This is subjective and depends on your play style, but some of the most highly regarded Shouts include Slow Time, Unrelenting Force, Become Ethereal, and Whirlwind Sprint. Each has unique utility in combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving.
6. How many Shouts are there in Skyrim?
There are 20 different Shouts in the base game of Skyrim. There are additional shouts that are available through DLC, and depending on which DLC packs you have installed, you may have more Shouts at your disposal.
7. How many Dragon Souls do I need to unlock all Shouts?
Since there are 20 Shouts and each Shout has three words, you would need 60 Dragon Souls to learn and fully unlock every Shout in the base game.
8. Can I learn Shouts from the Greybeards?
The Greybeards can teach you a limited number of Shouts as part of the main quest, but you won’t learn every Shout from them. Most Shouts must be discovered by exploring Word Walls throughout Skyrim.
9. What happens if I don’t kill any dragons?
If you don’t kill any dragons, you won’t obtain Dragon Souls, which are essential for unlocking Shouts. This severely limits your ability to use Shouts and progress through certain parts of the game.
10. Can I beat Skyrim without using Shouts?
While it’s possible to complete many side quests and explore much of Skyrim without using Shouts, it’s not possible to complete the main quest without them, as Dragonrend is required to progress.
11. Where can I find Dragon Priests?
Dragon Priests are powerful enemies often guarding Word Walls or located in ancient ruins. They can be found in locations like Labyrinthian, Volskygge, and Forelhost.
12. Can I create my own Shouts in Skyrim?
No, the Dragonborn can only learn and master existing Shouts by absorbing the knowledge from dragon souls. They cannot create new Shouts from scratch.
13. How does Speech skill affect Shouts?
The Speech skill primarily affects your ability to persuade, intimidate, and barter with NPCs. It doesn’t directly impact the power or cooldown of Shouts.
14. Can I reset my Shouts?
No, there is no way to reset the Words of Power that you have already learned, and there is no in-game mechanic that allows you to regain spent Dragon Souls. So make sure to think critically about how you want to progress with learning Shouts.
15. What is the hardest Shout to acquire?
The Dragonrend Shout, learned during the main quest, could be considered the hardest to “acquire” in the sense that it requires significant quest progression and defeating challenging encounters. However, the Shout itself it not difficult to find.